Vancouver's So Loki want to be the 'West Coast answer to Drake'
From the studio to the streets, take an impressionistic tour of the hip hop duo's local haunts
The last time they spoke with CBC, Vancouver's So Loki had just released their debut album, V.
"[We're] working to be the West Coast answer to Drake," the hip hop duo told CBC Music by email. And just like Drizzy's become Toronto's unofficial mascot, So Loki is so Vancouver. It's there in the V (for Vancouver) of their album title, right down to the record's packaging — a rubber USB shaped like local landmark the East Van Cross.
The group's made up of Sam Lucia and Geoffrey Millar (a.k.a. Natura), two musicians who joined forces a little more than a year ago. Millar, the producer, grew up in the Vancouver suburbs; frontman Lucia is an Edmonton ex-pat. Together, they're committed to growing the city's hip hop scene — which is already birthing similarly experimental and independent acts. Horsepowar and Tommy Genesis are just two examples. But how do you go about defining a city's whole hip hop identity?
Everything we make is because of the city we make it in.- Sam Lucia, So Loki
Listen to So Loki's lyrics, and it's clear that their view of the city looks nothing like "The 6ix." It's darker, more antagonistic — more complicated. Put it this way: Toronto's dealing with a housing crisis of its own, but there's no way you'll hear Drake rapping about rent control. These guys go there — but there's plenty of less regionally-specific stuff about love and lust, too. As they told CBC Arts: "So Loki is our attempt to debunk rap into this new post-rap era."
In this video for Exhibitionists, filmmakers and YouTube creators JR Alli and Kenny Choi shadowed So Loki from their studio to the street. It's an impressionistic look at their life in the city, and in it, the musicians reveal why they're committed to staying there.
"I'm really hoping that we can help Vancouver become one of those creative hubs because it's a land of opportunity," says Lucia. Adds Millar: "Everything we make is because of the city we make it in."
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